Reunited
by TenshiAme
Summary: Kurama walked out of Amara's life when she lost her memories but fate forces her back in. What will he do when the enemy targets her life to unleash The Demon upon the world? With no memories, Amara cannot fend for herself, but her memories may drive her insane. Kurama's resolve is put to the test. Can he protect her? Is he protecting her? KuramaXOC
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: I use the last name, first name set up. Obviously I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho. Tsubaki Amara is my character, I don't like the stories that do the "your name" blanks or whatever so I made a character, if you don't like it then grow an imagination and replace her with your own name.

Also, I'll switch back and forth between Shuichi and Kurama. I'll use Kurama for the most part, but when I refer to something like Shiori's thoughts or something I'll obviously use Shuichi. Just go with the flow :)

My updates will be irregular, sorry if this bothers you, but I have an odd work schedule so you'll have to wait patiently.

Critics are welcome, don't flame me, if you don't like it and can't contribute to my writing then just redirect your web page.

On that note, please enjoy my story and review!

* * *

A small red-haired child sat in the corner of the room, flipping through a picture book, eyes looking but not seeing. Everything about him screamed his displeasure of attending preschool. His human mother had told him to "be a good boy" and "make some new friends". A growl threatened to rise from his throat; _him _make friends with a bunch of inferior human children? _Please_.

His thoughts were snapped back to attention and his emerald eyes shot up, over the book's edge and to the source of the sound. A pile of blocks had appeared in front of him; one had rolled and hit his small foot. Hatred for his current size and vulnerable state fleeted across his mind and he mentally pushed it aside. Eyes trailing across the scattered pile, they found the source of the mess. A young human girl stood there grinning at him. Her violet eyes seemed to say 'I have a secret' and her black hair swayed in their high pig-tails as she rocked on the heels of her feet.

"What," his voice wasn't as harsh as he meant it to be, perhaps due to the shocking color of her eyes. It wasn't a color seen commonly among humans or demons.

She didn't falter at his tone, too intrigued by the boy to care about his attitude. "Hi! I'm Tsubaki Amara. You're Minamino Shuichi-kun right? Do you want to play blocks with me?"

Emerald eyes narrowed, willing her to go away. "Why would I possibly want to play blocks with _you?_" Futile thoughts danced across his mind; if he had his power back he could easily be rid of this pathetic child.

Her grin faded as she tilted her head, a mischievous smile taking the grin's place, "Because I know."

Shuichi's eyes widened ever so slightly; he had dealt with many demons claiming they knew something that he wanted, or that would stop him from cruelly taking their life. A voice in the back of his mind told him that this girl really did know something; that she wasn't lying. But he couldn't fathom that a human child, no older than 4 years, could possibly understand any of his secrets, let alone want anything from him.

His silence was too long, the girl leaned over the blocks and whispered to him, "I know that you're a demon."

Eyes snapping open, he watched her calmly sit down to play with the blocks between them. His heart rate quickened and his breathing was rapid and shallow. _How? _ A child, a _human _child knew his secret. If she knew, then who told her? Who else knew?

As if sensing his discomfort, violet eyes bore into his, giving him a sincere and comforted feeling. "You don't have to worry. I won't tell anyone. Gramma has been telling me about demons for as long as I can remember. She says I have to train hard and become a good priestess for our shrine. I wasn't sure I believed demons existed, but here you are." A giggle followed her explanation as she built a small castle between them. "Shuichi doesn't really sound like a demon's name though."

His body relaxed a bit but his mind was reeling with this new information. If a child could tell that he wasn't human then others wouldn't have a problem either. He hadn't recovered any of his demonic powers yet, there was no way he could defend himself from his enemies. This girl's spirit energy and sixth sense were strong for such an age; she'd be a formidable power in the future.

A small smirk curled his lips, "It's my human name. Demons call me Youko Kurama." His small hands moved to aid her in building her castle. Making friends with her could prove useful until his powers returned.

Amara's mouth opened in a wide 'O', "Gramma told me stories about Youko Kurama! The bestest thief in all the worlds! A fox demon with amazing plant powers!"

Self-discipline was all the contained his desire to roll his eyes, at least he wouldn't have to explain his own greatness to her.

Days passed, Amara stuck to Kurama like glue; refusing to be without him whenever at school. He learned to tolerate her incessant talking and questions. With much prodding, he told her how he came to live in a human body and his plans to return to his demon life as soon as possible. He didn't miss the sad look flash across her face after hearing this.

Despite the fact that he didn't care about the girl's personal life, she told him everything anyway. Amara had lost her parents to a car crash when she was a baby and was being raised by her grandmother; whom was teaching her everything she needed to know about being a priestess.

The girl wished to bring Kurama to her home, a temple not far from the preschool, but knew her grandmother would never allow a demon to enter, or leave. Instead, Amara followed Kurama home on several occasions. Minamino Shiori was ecstatic the first time her odd child brought home a friend. She, more or less, could tell that Amara had followed her son rather than having been invited, but she didn't question it. Shuichi was an odd child, quiet and reserved, rarely caused any trouble, but something about him didn't quite sit right with Shiori. Bringing home a normal friend, willingly or not, was something she was intent on encouraging.

Over time, Kurama became accustomed to Amara's presence. As time passed, they went through school together, always in the same class. The fox demon didn't realize when he had begun enjoying her presence or when he began expecting her to be there whenever he turned around. But when it struck him how he was acting, he fought it. His demon pride told him to stop acting like a foolish human, but his human side desired to keep her long black hair within sight, to catch her violet eyes staring at his unusually red hair, to hear her soft voice chatting about whatever had happened in the short times they were apart.

When they went to junior high they were separated. It didn't make much of a difference to Amara, she visited his class as often as she could; recess, lunch, whenever. But things started to change. The girl had never had much interest in making friends with other children and they didn't feel they could intrude on the close relationship between Shuichi and Amara. In junior high though, girls started to notice Minamino Shuichi. His attitude had softened over the years, he was more polite to others, at the urging of Amara of course, and when he was 10 years old, his mother had been badly injured while protecting him. He came to care for his human mother and friend; changing how he looked at humans, slowly bringing him to see them less as inferior beings.

Their female classmates shunned Amara for her closeness to their princely Shuichi. They wanted him for themselves of course. It didn't bother her, but Kurama began to notice. The silent bullying of his friend bothered him, tacks in her shoes, hiding her things and other petty actions. He tried to offer his aid but she turned him down, saying it would stop eventually and it didn't bother her.

On the opposite end, the male classmates adored Amara but feared Shuichi. One tried to stand up to him, saying it wasn't right for such a cold guy to be with such a bright girl. Shuichi just looked up from his book and told him, "Then stop being a coward and take her away." His voice was cool but unnerving, a hint of a threat laid in the undertones and his classmates backed off immediately.

It was the end of their final year of junior high. Amara decided to follow Kurama to Meiou High School, but neither of them expected what would happen that summer.

Over the years, Amara's grandmother taught and trained her to be a priestess. The girl could fight, but her powers ran along the supportive and defensive side. One hot summer day Amara was in the midst of training, meditating and focusing on the flux of her spirit energy. Her grandmother let out a sharp gasp and grabbed the girl's arm roughly.

"Wha- Grandmother? What's wrong?" alarmed, she suddenly felt the problem. A demon had broken through the barriers around the temple.

Amara found herself being shoved into a hidden closet before she could protest. It was sealed shut and she could do nothing, her grandmother's seal was formidable. However, she could hear what was happening. Two demon energies entered the room she had just left.

"Where's the girl?" one voice demanded, it was deep and rough.

"I don't know what you're talking about, I've lived alone here for a very long time," her grandmother's voice sounded firm, but Amara could tell she was uneasy.

"Don't lie to us; we know you're hiding the girl here somewhere. It's only a matter of time until we find her. If you tell us, we might let you live," the second voice was softer, but the malice made Amara shiver in fear.

"There's no one else living here."

The sound of heavy footsteps was quickly followed by a loud slam and crash. She knew her grandmother was in trouble but she couldn't escape the closet. Malicious laughing and screaming filled the air. Amara curled up against the wall and tried to block out the sounds with her hands. It seemed like forever had passed before the screams stopped, but she couldn't move, her body was frozen with fear.

Sounds of the place being ripped apart filled her ears, when it stopped she didn't know. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she whispered "Kurama". She begged to the heavens to send him to her, for him to somehow know something was wrong. It wasn't until she suddenly fell backwards, head hitting the floor with a small thud and splash, that she stopped. Wincing, she sat up and rubbed her head. It was… sticky? Bringing her hand into view, she saw it was covered in bright red blood.

Panic filled her, heart pounding, breathe coming quickly. Slowly she stood, praying with her entire being that it wasn't what she thought. Turning around, the horrifying sight sent her back to the floor. Blood was streaked everywhere, flesh was torn and scattered. Her eyes couldn't look away from the sight; desperately she searched for something to tell her it was a lie, that her only family was alive and well. Each time her eyes moved to focus on something different a new terror filled her; she recognized organs strewn across the room, limbs ripped away and tossed aside. Amara's hands covered her face, fingers spread and clawing into her skin, as she screamed in horror and grief.

Time seemed to stand still for her. She didn't recognize the pounding of footsteps coming closer; the arms that wrapped around her; the body that blocked her vision that was unraveling her sanity. Sounds reached her ears, vaguely she recognized that she had been lifted and carried off, a cool breeze brushed across her exposed skin and violently bright sunlight beat blood red on her as the source attempted to hide beyond the horizon.

Her nails had dug deep into her face; blood was rolling down to mix with tears she didn't know she was shedding. Something unknown ripped her hands from her face and wiped away the blood and tears. Green bore down on her, Amara didn't register what it belonged to, just that it was green.

Kurama shook her shoulders and stared into her eyes, shouting her name; but to no avail. Her violet eyes had lost their luster, staring unseeingly back. It wasn't long before sirens went off in the distance, quickly getting closer. The fox boy was panicking, shaking the girl violently and pleading for a response. Hands grabbed his arms and stopped him, pulling him away from Amara. He yelled at the people around him and ripped his arms away; pulling Amara close to him. Kurama's tears fell into her bloody hair, panic had never claimed him like this before and he wasn't sure what he could do for his friend.

The people around him began to survey the area and the building. A scream of horror filled his ears, followed by a cop running by and vomiting into the brush. They started asking him questions. All he could say was "I don't know". Kurama gave his information to them and told them Amara's name. He refused to be separated from her, the paramedics barely convinced him to back up enough for them to treat her injuries. Amara was sent to the hospital and he forced them to take him with.

Days passed and Amara gave no response to anyone or anything. She barely ate and slept most of the days away. After a week an older woman showed up. She was small and ordinary, but had the same black hair as Amara. Kurama heard her tell the doctor that she was the girl's Aunt and that she was here to take her to live with her and her family in America. The fox's hand tightened around Amara's. He knew that taking her far from this place would help her recover, but he didn't want to let her go. It felt like he was abandoning her and there was nothing he could do about it.

The next day Amara's aunt showed up in the early afternoon. She thanked Kurama for staying near her niece all the time and gave him her address so he could keep in touch with Amara. He said nothing. Rustling of sheets reached his ears and he whipped around. Violet eyes were staring at him. She had sat up; something she hadn't done all week. Her eyes bothered him. Kurama couldn't tell why but something about them was different from the vacant ones he'd been watching lately and from the lively, bright ones he was accustomed to.

Amara's aunt moved to the bedside and started talking gently but slowly to her and Kurama scowled. _She's not retarded you stupid human. _He bit back his words as he watched his best friend stare at the women with confusion. That looked turned back to him, violet staring into emerald.

"Who are you? I feel like I should know, but I can't seem to remember."

Those words shattered Kurama. He faltered as he approached her and took her hand into his. Mouth opening and closing several times, he came to the conclusion it would be easier for her to recover mentally if she didn't remember. Demons had slaughtered her grandmother and he didn't want to trigger her memories by telling her who he was. Backing away, he shook his head and smiled sadly at her. "I'm no one important, just a classmate."

Her lips curved downwards as her brow furrowed, not pleased with the answer. "But I-"

He cut her off, sharply turning on his heel and racing out the door. Kurama snuck into the airport, he had heard what flight she would be leaving on and hid near the gate and watched. Her black hair swayed and her eyes looked around, trying to take in everything as her aunt led her to the gate to board. The fox stayed and watched until the plane took off.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Just so you know, I live in Japan and all the clubs here have lame, English names. For example, in my area there is Red Bull, My Place and J-Draws.

Oh and I never established an age for when they left, so I'm going with 14. That's how old I was when I went from 9th to 10th grade (American equivalent for Japanese junior high 3rd year and high school 1st year)

* * *

"Kurama! We got an in for the hottest club around!" Keiko and Yusuke had walked into his shop, too excited to care about the customers around them.

He smiled gently at his friends and led them to the back, leaving the floor to his hired help, "And which club is that?"

Yusuke slung an arm around his friend, "Purple! They have the best music, widest selection of alcohol and the hottest girls." The last part was whispered as quietly as possible.

"The only problem is that the line is always hours and hours of waiting, but not tonight!" Keiko swiped a bottle of water from the refrigerator, grinning.

"And how did you manage that?"

"Well we were at the mall, getting some lunch, and this girl was getting harassed by a bunch of jerks," Keiko's eyes flashed dangerously, "She kept telling them to go away, but they wouldn't stop!"

"_So which clubs should we hit up tonight?" Keiko looked up at Yusuke as they headed towards the food court._

_The brown eyed detective just shrugged, "Whe-" "What part of 'fuck-off' do you not understand?!"_

_They turned towards the disturbance, many people in the area were now watching as a few guys surrounded a small girl._

"_Come on baby, we won't hurt you. Just come and play with us for a while," The punk had greasy bleached hair and more piercing in his ears then one could think possible._

_The girl's back was towards them, but Yusuke could see the anger in her stance as she flung the guy's hand from her shoulder._

"_Yusuke! Do something!" Keiko whispered at him, but it was pointless, he was already on his way over._

"_Hey! She obviously doesn't want anything to do with you, so why don't you back off?" his hands clenched in his jacket pockets and his eyes narrowed dangerously excited. The detective hadn't had a good fight in a while._

_The girl turned sharply to look at him as the unrelenting guys around her looked up angrily._

"_Why don't you mind your own business? We're just having a nice conversation here," this one was bald and had a skull tattooed on the back of his head._

_Yusuke pulled his hands from his pockets and started moving in, when the bald guy just doubled over in pain._

"_You….bitch!" he bit out as he collapsed to the floor. His blue, mohawked friend growled and grabbed a handful of the girl's long black hair._

_She let out a yelp of pain as the guy yanked her back. It was seconds before Yusuke's fist connected with the guy's face, smashing his sunglasses to pieces and throwing the guy across the floor._

_The greasy haired blonde glared and pulled out a pocket knife, flipping it open. Yusuke snorted and easily dodged the guy's thrust towards his face and followed up with a knee to his gut. Unable to breathe, the punk fell over gasping._

_Keiko appeared at his side, "Are you ok?" She took the girl's hand and pulled her off the ground._

"_I'm fine now, thanks. Though I think it might be time for a haircut." She grinned, "I'm Tsubaki Amara."_

"_Urameshi Keiko and this is my husband, Yusuke."_

_Amara looked up at Yusuke with a smile and his own grin faltered a bit, stunned by her purple eyes._

"_Thanks for saving me. I've never been much of a fighter."_

"_No prob, dicks like that deserve a good beating. I'm just disappointed that they didn't put up a better fight." His eyes flicked around and the punks had disappeared._

_Keiko slapped him over the head, "Hey! What the hell, Keiko?"_

"_Don't go overboard with it," she hissed at him and turned to Amara, "Would you like to join us for lunch?"_

_Amara chuckled at their interaction, "Sorry I would but I have to go to work, have a business to take care of. But, I do owe you one. Why don't you guys swing by sometime, bring your friends, I'll put your name on the list."_

"_List?" they asked at the same time and looked at each other, blushing and looking away quickly._

_A small giggle reclaimed their attention, "I own a club, Purple. Maybe you've heard of it?"_

Kurama listened to their story until he heard their description of the girl, long black hair and shockingly purple eyes. She told them her name was Amara. It had to be her, it couldn't be anyone else. The logical side of him told him that there was no doubt, but another side said that it wasn't, it couldn't be.

"I'll go," He stated it quickly, so quickly that his friends looked at him like he'd lost it. Normally they had to forcibly drag him to clubs; he always told them that the pounding music was too much for his sensitive hearing. Yusuke suspected he was just trying to get away from the flocks of girls that always surrounded him.

The fox was grateful to the voice that called from the front shop, "Shuichi? I need some help out here."

"Sorry, work calls. I'll come over at 8," he fled the questioning looks and tended to his customers.

The day passed in a blur for the fox, his thoughts replayed every memory he had of the girl. It seemed like only a few minutes had passed before he was knocking on the Urameshi's door.

Botan opened the door with her usual bubbly smile, which turned into a mischievous smile as she examined his outfit. A silk, dark green, long-sleeved button down with the top couple buttons left undone, black slacks and matching shoes.

His eyes shined suspiciously as she looked at him, "Good evening Botan, you look lovely."

She wore a tube top that matched her hair and a mini-skirt that matched her eyes, with multiple bangles on each arm and open-toed heels to go with her shirt.

Giggling, she let him inside, "Seems like I'm not the only one who's bringing it all tonight. Are you trying to get mobbed by the women, or just catch the eyes of one?"

A small irritated sigh escaped him, apparently his earlier actions had been shared, "I don't know what you're talking about." Feigning innocence seemed to be the best option.

Botan let him escape to the living room where the rest of the guys were waiting and headed back upstairs to aid Keiko.

"Good evening everyone," the fox settled on the couch next to Kuwabara after a questioning look was sent towards Hiei. Red-eyes sent their usual harsh look back, ignore the obvious question. The fire demon never went to clubs with them, so why was he here this evening? He even went so far as to wear normal clothes, well if you don't count the headband covering his jagan. His outfit was similar to Kurama's only completely black.

Kuwabara slouched and threw his head back to stare at the ceiling; it was obvious the man was thinking about his beloved Yukina. He wore a blue shirt and nice jeans, similar to Yusuke's outfit, who was wearing a green shirt, lighter in color then Kurama's.

Yusuke scowled after checking the time, 8:47. They had all agreed to leave at 8:30 so they could be at the club by 9. "Why do girls take so damn long to get ready?"

"So we can look our best, of course. You didn't think it was easy to look this sexy did you?" Keiko responded, causing Yusuke to jump out of his chair and whip around.

Keiko was wearing a dark red, halter top; it showed a fair amount of cleavage and a black skirt that reached the floor, however, when she moved the slits up the sides showed her well-toned legs. Her husband's jaw slacked a bit as his eyes roamed appreciatively causing her to blush scarlet.

Kuwabara immediately left the couch to kiss and hug Yukina. Her outfit was a bit more conservative; a blue dress, form fitting around her top, showing a modest amount of cleavage under the crossing straps, the bottom half was loose and knee length and matching heels accented the outfit.

Some bickering and teasing delayed them a bit longer but the group piled into a couple of cars and made it to the club by 9:30.

As they neared the club they could see the line of people waiting to get in, it went down the road 2 blocks before turning a corner and continuing for who knows how long. They found some lucky parking spots nearby and walked to the club, pounding music reached them before they could even see it.

The building was a dark purple and had no windows. A giant neon sign spelt out purple above a single, bright purple door blocked by two large men in black, letting people in and out as necessary.

Keiko and Botan were excitedly chatting as they walked up to the door. Keiko smiled confidently to the bouncers and gave her name. He scanned his clipboard and smiled back, letting their group through.

The inside was dark; dim purple lights barely lit the place up, covering everything in purple. Varying shades of the color covered the place from top to bottom; the floor, the walls, the ceiling, all the furniture, even the bar and the stairs to the next floor. Cloth draped the walls, patterned and strategically designed. The bar was one of the two bright spots in the room, the other being the stage, three people stood behind the bar serving the masses of people. On the stage a DJ played under bright lights, dancers had flooded the floor in front of him and many had taken a break to eat or drink at the various tables off to the sides.

They decided to find a table and get some drinks before starting to dance. A corner table was open and large enough to fit them all and a server took their order and came back quickly.

Kurama sat on the outside of the booth bench, attempting to casually scan the room for signs of the woman he hadn't seen in 10 years. His friends chatted, as well as they could over the loud music, and watched him carefully. Never had they seen him react to a girl this way; the guy had only been on a few dates in the time they had known him, each relationship ended with one date.

The fox's eyes settled on a figure coming towards him and his eyes flashed irritation as he held back a groan of displeasure.

"Hi Shuichi, it's been awhile. Why didn't you call me?" It was Maya, a girl Kurama had taken on a date a couple weeks ago, after she had pestered him relentlessly.

He stood to face the girl, plastering his mastered fake smile across his lips, "I thought I had made it clear that I would not be calling you."

Annoyance and anger crinkled the girl's smooth skin, "I thought we had a lovely time on our date." Her voice was high pitched and a fake, sugary sweet.

Kurama could feel his friends turning to watch the interaction, straining to hear their conversation over the loud music. "It would be best if you left quietly Maya. I will not be continuing any relation with you now or ever."

Her frustration snapped her self-control and a hand swiped across his cheek, the sound drowned out by the pounding. Emerald eyes narrowed dangerously, he could feel more and more people turning to watch at this point.

Before either could say another word a finger tapped on Maya's shoulder, to which she turned viciously, "What do you want?"

Kurama felt his heart skip a beat, the owner of the finger was the one he had searched the crowds for moments before. Violet eyes stared down at the offending girl.

"Leave. _Now._" her voice sounded pleasant, but the fox recognized the underlying steel. Her postured said that no was not an acceptable answer, but Maya was oblivious to the warnings.

"Who are _you _to tell _me_ what to do?" Maya put her face inches from Amara's, who didn't move, only smiled back as she held her hand up and made an odd gesture.

It wasn't long before a large, burly man in black appeared. "My dear, I am the owner of this fine establishment and therefore I can tell anyone within it to do whatever I want. Right now I'm telling this gentleman to remove you from the premises and add you to the list of people not allowed back. Good bye." Black hair brushed across Maya's outraged face as Amara turned sharply and headed towards the bar.

Ignoring Maya's ungraceful exit and abandoning his friends, who were, for the most part, grinning and watching him carefully, Kurama headed after Amara.

He reached the bar moments after she did. Amara chatted with one an older looking man as he mixed a drink, eyeing a younger man at the other end of the bar. The younger bartender was slow and seemed to be having a hard time remembering what he was supposed to do next for whatever it was he was mixing.

Lingering behind and off to the side, emerald eyes compared the current beauty to the one he remembered. She was taller, but not much, at full height she'd probably just barely pass his shoulders. He noted that she was also wearing high heels. At 14 she hadn't had much in the line of curves, but now she had filled out nicely and had nicely toned arms and legs. Black hair was pulled up into a ponytail, but he could tell it was much longer than before, instead of stopping just below her shoulders, it easily reached her lower back.

Memories of the last time he talked to her pushed to the forefront of his mind. Did she remember him? Moments ago she hadn't even looked up at him, he couldn't be sure. His eyes flitted to the man she was talking to, the bartender gestured behind her. She turned, violet met emerald. Her eyes softened a bit, like she turned to fend off a guy but instead liked the sight in front of her. Kurama's eyes saddened; there was no sign of familiarity there.

It didn't pass unnoticed, she closed the short distance between then and leaned close so he could hear her more easily, "Can I help you with something?"

Her scent filled his nose and he inhaled deeply, losing himself momentarily. Bringing his eyes to hers, he smiled fondly as her look turned to confusion and curiosity.

"I'm Minamino Shuichi. I wanted to thank you for a moment ago. You saved me from that woman."

A smile graced her lips and a fleeting look of remembrance crossed her eyes, like his name rang a bell in her. His spirits rose with some hope, if she didn't remember maybe he could bring her memories back. Hope was dashed by the fleeting memory of why she had forgotten in the first place.

"I'm Tsubaki Amara and you're welcome. Though, it was more for the fact that she was disturbing my place of business." Her eyes casually wondered over his face, examining the rose red hair with curiosity.

Kurama lingered near her. He longed to just pull her close and tightly, like she used to upon seeing him after even the shortest parting.

"This might seem odd, but have we met before?" her eyes stared at him intently, like she was trying hard to remember something.

He panicked; unsure of whether or not to tell her, whether or not she'd remember the horrible event that separated them in the first place. Faltering, he stuttered, "I-uh… we."

She backed a step and looked at him sternly. Grabbing his wrist, she pulled him through a door, down a hallway and into an office. The door slammed, the lock clicked, and she turned sharply. Jabbing an accusing finger on his chest, "You _know me _don't you!?"

There was no getting around it, his hesitation gave him away. He nodded slowly, watching her reaction.

She let out a shaky breath and started pacing. "I know I lived in japan before. I mean that's what my aunt told me. But I didn't think I'd run into anyone who remembered me. It's been 10 years and I don't remember anything before going to America."

On every turn she glanced up at him, violet eyes were narrowed, like she was racking her brain to remember him, to remember anything. Sharply, she whipped back towards him, "How?"

Kurama couldn't decide how much to tell her. What would trigger unwanted memories and what would bring about the good ones? "School, we were in the same class."

It was obvious he held back; he could tell that she knew he was holding back. "Classmates? For how long? How close were we? What do you know about me?"

The desperate look on her face stabbed him in the heart. She's been wondering about her life for the past 10 years and he was her key.

"Elementary school, we weren't friends. We hung out a few times for school projects or parties with other friends."

Her eyes lost a bit of their hope, but he could tell she thought it was better then nothing.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: I just want to apologize for the small spelling errors, grammar errors and any small parts that were confusing because my brain decided to think faster than my fingers could type. Each time I sit to work on a new chapter I sit and reread the old chapters, for various reasons, and I see little things that were messed up but didn't reach my attention upon the previous readings. I always see something, so I go back and fix it so that new readers can have that blissful ignorance of my horrible 'final draft' and enjoy the new one.

If you do see something wrong and have some time, please pm me and let me know so I can fix it. Or you could leave a review saying "Fix it dammit!" *hint hint* lol.

Now, please enjoy the next installment of Reunited

* * *

"So… You can tell me a little bit at least?" Amara had backed away a few steps, her eyes were downcast and voice was a mixture of disappointment and desperation. "Perhaps who I was friends with? Who could tell me more about myself?"

Kurama's heart throbbed with a stabbing pain. Each word she uttered was like a fresh knife attempting to remove the life-giving organ. "I'm sorry, but I don't know who could tell you any more then I. You didn't seem to have any close friends." He wanted nothing more than to slap himself in the face for the bald lie. She would've had close friends if he hadn't monopolized her. If it weren't for him, the girl would've made many friends and probably wouldn't have experienced such a traumatizing event. The fact that he was a demon thief sought by many in another world was something that weighed heavily on him when she disappeared from his life.

Her smaller frame made its way shakily to a chair and fell into it. Black hair swished across the back of the chair, teasingly at the fox demon. His hand was almost touching it before he realized and pulled back sharply.

"I'm sorry for taking some of your time. Please go and enjoy the rest of the night with your friends," Amara's soft voice wavered as she dismissed him.

Kurama could smell the salt of her tears as he silently unlocked the door and shut it behind him. Sobs trickled to his delicate ears as he leaned against the door, his eyes closed tightly, teeth clenched and fists tightening at his side. Anger swelled in him, its hot tendrils licking away his control, urging him to go back.

"I never thought I'd see the day."

Emerald eyes snapped open and glared harshly in ruby ones. "What?" he hissed out. His anger redirected to the smaller demon in front of him. Hiei's telepathy could pose a real problem if Kurama wanted to follow through his plan of keeping Amara at arm's length.

"I never thought I'd see the day when you did something as stupid as the detective."

The red-head didn't want to hear it; he pushed away from the door and started back towards the club. Stifling his anger, he paused at the end of the hall, hand on the knob pulsing in time with the club's music. Since when did Hiei get involved in anything that had no gain for him? Turning back to ask why he had bothered, green eyes stared at an empty hall. His resolve shook as his eyes flickered over the office door before he turned to rejoin his friends.

The next week passed at an agonizing pace for Kurama. He sat in the back of his shop, head laid back and hand blocking the blinding overhead lights. Memories of the night at the club flashed before him. His friends had thought he had left with Amara for the night and when he came back they could tell that he was upset. They wanted to ask him about it but he avoided them, all week.

A bell ring stirred him back to reality and a voice calling out forced him to open his eyes. Briefly he recalled his assistant calling in sick this morning. "I'll be right with you," he responded to the unknown caller. With a sigh, he forced himself off the couch and went out to the floor.

Plastering on a smile, he went to the counter, "How may I-" Kurama froze, his emerald eyes clashed with similarly shocked violet ones, "-help you?"

Amara smiled shyly at him, sadness flickered across her gaze, "Of all the flower shops in Tokyo I walk into this one. Perhaps fate is trying to say something?" Her voice was teasing him and he couldn't help but smile back at her.

"Perhaps… What can I get for you today?"

"Uh, well a friend of mine is in the hospital, I wanted to get him a 'get well' bouquet," she looked away from him and fingered some of the nearby plants.

Kurama's smile faltered but he forced it back into place. "Well, 'get well' bouquets are generally softer colors, pale yellows and pinks, for a boyfriend you may want to throw in some red roses-" a giggle interrupted him while he picked some flowers from the refrigerator.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude, but we're definitely not dating and soft colors won't do. They need to be vibrant. Like, so bright that it hurts your eyes to look at them."

He chuckled; his heart lightened a bit, "That's a rather odd request." Seeking out the brightest in the store, the fox gathered enough for the bouquet.

Amara grinned as she watched him arrange the flowers, "He's a rather odd person. Bright, vibrant and the most flaming gay guy you'll ever meet."

"That'll be $25."

Her fingers brushed his when she handed him the cash and he flinched slightly. Purple eyes flickered up questioningly but he didn't meet them, just moved to the cash register.

"Kurama!"

The fox demon froze with his fingers on the receipt, green eyes swept over Amara. She was just as stiff as he was. A bell rang behind her eyes and her fingers went to her temple, as if willing herself to remember the name."

"Kura- oh!"

He didn't move. His eyes were fixated on the girl in front of him, but he could see Botan as she rushed into the door, at the edge of his vision.

Amara took the receipt and the flowers, bowing slightly, "Thanks," she turned and headed for the door. Botan moved to the side as Amara approached the door, bowing slightly as she passed, "Excuse me."

Without thinking, the reaper bowed in return, "Of course." And watched her flee the shop.

Turning to Kurama, Botan's kimono rustled and she looked down with a gasp. She hadn't had time to enter the human body Koenma had given her. "Kurama, that girl!"

"I know, Botan… But she doesn't know what she saw;" Botan looked at him questioningly, "What was so urgent Botan?"

The reaper's pink eyes narrowed a bit confused, but let it drop. "Koenma sent me, said it was an emergency. I already talked to Yusuke and Kuwabara, they're looking for Hiei."

Four men stood around Koenma's office, anxiety hung thickly in the air. "I'm glad you all could make it."

"We already told you that we're done with this demon hunting crap." Yusuke was impatient and Koenma's nervousness was agitating him.

"I know Yusuke, but this isn't demon hunting. I need your help to find some missing humans."

"Let humans find humans. I refuse to babysit again," Hiei leaned against the wall and glared at the small prince.

"I would if I could Hiei, but these aren't ordinary humans. They're priestesses, very important priestesses."

"I thought they just guarded temples," Kuwabara scrunched up his face in confusion.

"They do. The temples always hold some sort of relic or object of power," Koenma clicked, his remote and the screen behind them flashed to life. An overhead image of Japan had 8 spots highlighted, spread out over the country.

Kurama turned from the TV back to the toddler sized man, "And what do these temples hold?"

"They're seals and the priestesses are the keys to opening them." Koenma fidgeted, both Hiei and Kurama were staring him down with narrow suspicious eyes.

"So? What are they sealing up?" Yusuke asked as pictures of the temples popped up on the screen.

"Let me explain the seals first. Seven of the seals are to strengthen one." A click came from the remote and the screen highlighted seven of the seals, each displayed a different symbol above them.

"What is that? Chinese?" Kuwabara squinted at the foreign language. Another click was heard and it was translated to Japanese

"Yes, five of the seals were created based on Chinese elements. Each seal is affiliated with a different element; fire, earth, metal, water and wood. Then these two represent light and dark. At each seal is a priestess to guard it and keep it strengthened. Each priestess is affiliated with the element their seal is weak against."

"So like a water priestess guards the fire seal?" Kuwabara studied the map.

"The giant oaf knows something for once," Hiei mocked.

Kurama ignored the inevitable argument and stepped closer to the map. The light seal was placed over a familiar location. "Genkai is the dark priestess?"

Silence settled over the room and Yusuke looked at him like he was crazy, "Genkai a priestess? Are you kidding Kurama?"

"No Yusuke, the light seal is definitely over Genkai's temple; it's the only temple in that area."

"You're half right Kurama, Genkai's temple is one of the seal locations, but Genkai is not a priestess. The priestess line for that temple disappeared years ago. I asked Genkai to protect it until I could find her, but it's been years and I haven't got a clue." Koenma slouched into his chair and whined about his misfortune.

"What about the others? There are 7 others, surely you know where they are?" Kurama's eyes moved to the 8th seal's location. Marked only by a circle on the map, its location was dangerously close to their home town.

Koenma squirmed in his chair and pulled a file from a stack of papers on his desk, "Well, we know where 3 of them are…" He pushed the file towards the group.

The fox demon pried his eyes away from the screen and picked it up. Flipping it open, it contained information on 6 priestesses, all around the same age as him and his friends, 3 of them had their temple location and the extra protection that has been assigned. The other 3 had a giant stamp across the top page "CAPTURED". "They have 3 of the priestesses already? What happened to the seals?"

"They haven't been opened yet. The seals have to be opened in a certain order, we've placed guards around the seals but they likely won't show unless they're certain they can access the others. Our main problem is the two missing priestesses. We have no way to know if the enemy knows where they are, or if they have them already."

Kurama couldn't get around it. The location of the 8th seal was, without a doubt, the location of Amara's old home. She was definitely the priestess for the main seal. His green eyes filled with worry but at the same time a certain weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Demons had attacked her a decade ago and the fox blamed his enemies for it, but in reality it seemed to have nothing to do with him at all. But there was a new problem. Without her memories, Amara would not be able to protect herself, all her priestess training was locked away with the horrifying event that took her away from him. He wanted to protect her, keep her memories lock away so she wouldn't lose her sanity again. However, without her memories she couldn't do anything to protect herself, or even know that she was in danger to begin with.

His green eyes fell upon the prince of spirit world, who winced with expectation for scolding. "I know where to find one."

They all looked at him with shock. "What?! How could you possibly have that information? I've been searching for years!" Koenma was standing on his chair and leaning over his desk now.

"He's got a point Kurama. They're not exactly something you run into at the corner store," Yusuke's voice betrayed his bored look.

"Really Yusuke, it's simple. I've known her for a long time. You met her recently as well."

Brown eyes narrowed as he tried to recall someone who could fit the description of priestess. His jaw slacked as his eyes widened in realization, "That's impossible! I figured she was like Kuwabara and could sense nearby ghosts or something. …But you know, that kinda explains some things."

Kurama shook his red hair and smiled slightly, "Amara has a lot of power and she was raised to be the priestess of this temple." He pointed to the circle at the edge of their city.

Koenma was standing on his desk with excitement at this point, "We need to find her immediately! She's to be on 24 hour watch indefinitely!"

"No! She can't know about demons, it'll put her in more danger."

"What are you talking about Kurama?! She's a priestess! No… She's not a priestess. She's _the_ priestess; if they capture her they could find a way to open all the seals at once! Besides, she should know about demons. The previous priestess would've told her all about them by now."

"I'm sorry Koenma, but she has no recollection of anything before 10 years ago when the previous one died. If her memories do come back she'll be even less capable of protecting herself then she is now." Kurama's fists were shaking as dead violet eyes stared at him from his memories.

Koenma sighed in resignation; he knew when it was futile to argue with the fox. For one, the demon was much smarter than he. "Fine, but she has to be protected. One of you needs to be near her at all times. She isn't to be left alone, ever."

"So why is this so important anyway? You didn't tell us what's in those seals," Kuwabara asked, trying to ease the tension in the room.

Koenma glanced at the towering man and clicked his remote once more. A picture took place of the map. Large and grotesque were a couple of the words that came to mind when describing the demon. The snapshot showed a demon that was being bound by priestesses. They were barely discernible in the photo due to the distance it had to be taken for the whole demon to fit in. It was easily as large as, if not larger than, some of the biggest skyscrapers in the city.

The demon had purple skin, his body was shaped like a human's, minus the extra set of arms struggling against the binding enchantment, its feet were hooved like a goats and black fur ran up to the knees, eagle talons could be found in place of the lower arms' hands and werewolf looking claws on the upper arms'. His face was particularly sickening, it had the angry look of a statue of Ah or Un, but spider mandibles stuck out of his mouth. The pincers were spread, as the demon looked like he was roaring in anger, you could see nasty rotten fangs dripping what was probably poison. Five eyes rolled around his head, two on each side were blood red with black pupils looking in all directions, and the last was jet black and shined with an ominous feeling from the center of his forehead. Thin, stringy black hair was flying all over the place from the energy being released around it. It caught up in 4 knarly horns that stuck out and twisted in random directions.

"What the hell is that?" Yusuke had a disgusted look on his face as he turned away from it.

"Oni." Hiei replied, simply, as if it was obvious.

The detective looked at the smaller man with the most sarcasm he could muster, "No shit Sherlock."

"No Yusuke, Hiei is right. That thing is called Oni, or The Demon. It was sealed away several millennia ago. Some say it's the origin of all demons. That the seals weren't enough to keep its energy at bay and other demons were born from the leaking spirit," Kurama was looking at the image with a morbid curiosity.

* * *

Ok, I'm leaving it there. I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter so please let me know what you think!


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Happy Holidays! I don't celebrate anything in particular but I hope you all had a good time. Sorry I couldn't get a chapter out the last couple weeks, busy busy. I'll try to get 2 out this week to make up for it.

* * *

"Kurama!"

Amara froze as an image flashed in front of her. She rubbed her temple and chased it to the depths of the familiar darkness clouding her memories. A story book was in her lap; small, child hands holding it up; purple eyes gazing at the drawing of a man dressed in white with long silver hair and… fox ears? And a long silvery tail?

The sound of a siren going by snapped her from her thoughts. She registered an ambulance turned in front of her to go into the hospital emergency entrance. Looking up, Amara found herself at the automatic doors; her feet had brought her all the way there on their own. The bright and colorful bouquet was in her arms and she shifted them slightly.

Sighing, she headed inside to her friend's room. Knocking twice, she opened the door without hesitation and was greeted by two men making out on the bed. The male nurse was staring at Amara like a deer in headlights, only snapping back when an annoyed sigh escaped the man beneath him.

"Amara, honey, you have the worst timing ever," he rolled his dark green eyes at her.

"Oh please Seth. I've caught you doing worse," Amara went to the table on the far side of the room and started replacing the old dying flowers with the fresh ones.

"Exactly my point, my dear. You keep interrupting my little trysts and I'll start to wonder if you're trying to get in my pants." He grinned as she rolled her eyes. A click of the door told them that the nurse had fled the room.

"Sick people shouldn't try to sleep with every man that walks into their room."

"Honey, I just got my appendix out, I'm not crippled and I'm not sick."

"You'll rip your stitches out doing those things." Amara adjusted the flowers in the vase after setting it in front of the window.

"Well then I'd have an excuse for that yummy doctor to come back and spend some time with me."

"Mmmm hmmm," her thoughts wandered back to the story book.

Seth sighed and ran a hand through his long chestnut hair, "Alright hun, what's on your mind?"

She didn't hear him as she stared out the window at the cloudy blue sky, mind back on the fleeting memory.

"Amara? … Amara!"

The girl flinched and turned glaring purple eyes to annoyed green ones. "You don't have to yell, I'm only a few feet from you."

"I tried, you didn't answer. Why is that exactly?"

Letting out a sigh, Amara moved to sit on the chair next to the bed, staring at her hands in her lap. "You remember that guy I told you about, from the club?"

"That delicious sounding red head that said you went to school together? What about him?"

"I think he lied to me."

Seth quirked an eyebrow, "Go on."

"Well I got today's flowers at the place he works at and a friend of his showed up while I was paying. She called him a different name. I don't think he is who he says he is."

"Maybe it was a nickname?"

"No… I don't think so. She yelled it from outside and then again when she was walking in the door but stopped as soon as she saw me."

"Well you were in his place of business, it's not exactly polite."

"That's not the feeling I got from it though… When she said it I remembered something. A story book from when I was little. There was a demon bandit in it called Youko Kurama. She called him Kurama."

"You're thinking too much of it dear. There's no way he's some demon bandit from a story book."

"Yea… You're right. I guess I just went a little nuts from that memory."

"How much did you remember?"

"Just that story book. I was little and holding in my lap; open to the page with the bandit on it. He was some sort of fox demon I think; dressed in white with silver hair, fox ears and a tail. I think there was someone reading me the story but I can't remember it clearly enough."

"It's ok hun. Don't force it; you'll just give yourself a headache."

"… yea."

Silence filled the air as Seth stared sympathetically at his friend. It was broken by rain hitting the window. They both looked up at it. "You should go, before it gets any worse."

Amara looked at Seth with a forced smile and kissed him on the cheek, "Alright. Don't go ripping out your stitches just to get laid. You're stitches come out next week. We'll go to a gay bar and I'll play your wingwoman."

"Now that's the spirit! But we'll have to get us some new clothes; I have absolutely nothing to wear."

She rolled her eyes and left the man to prey upon another unsuspecting male nurse. Standing under the overhang at the front door, Amara looked up at the sky. It was pouring rain now and there was no sign it would let up anytime soon. With nothing to protect her from the downpour, she walked into the summer squall and was quickly soaked.

Amara's house was only a 10 minute walk from the hospital. As she entered the suburbs the rain grew heavier and lightning snaked across the clouds above her. The first crack of thunder made her flinch and when she recovered her vision was blurry. A hand was pulling her arm and the two of them ran through the rain. Lightning brightened the red-hair of the blurry figure in front of her. It led her to a house, through a gate and to the door – another crack of thunder brought her back to reality.

Blinking and looking around, Amara found herself in front of the house from the blurry partial memory. Glancing at the name plate, it read Minamino/Hatanaka.

"It couldn't be…" a whisper lost in the rain.

Amara's hand was shaking as she pushed on the gate in front of her. Her feet slowly led her to the front door. Before she knew what she was doing, Amara rang the doorbell.

She could barely hear the faint shuffling of feet on the other side. The handle turned and the door pulled away from her. Dark brown eyes were staring at her in shock, "Amara? Is that you?"

* * *

Sorry it's so short, I promise to get another chapter out this week. I don't have to work much so I'll have time and I'll try to make it really long to make up for this one.


	5. Chapter 5

"Dear you're soaking wet, come inside," gently the brown-eyed woman pulled Amara into her home. "What were you doing out in this storm?"

"Uh… I was going home… You know who I am?" her brow furrowed in confusion and uncertainty.

"Of course, you've certainly grown a lot in the last 10 years but who could forget those gorgeous violet eyes? Now wait here a moment." She disappeared down the hall and came back quickly with a couple towels. "Let's get you dry before you catch a cold."

Before she knew it, Amara was dry and wearing a man's shirt and khaki shorts, sitting on a couch and drinking fresh tea.

"Sorry I don't have anything better for you. I don't think my clothes would fit you so I dug out some of Shuichi's old clothes"

"It's ok, thank you. Um… Do-… Who are you?"

The woman tilted her head and frowned. "Don't you remember me?"

Amara shook her head no and forced down the growing hope. Shuichi didn't know much about her, why would this woman? "I don't have any memories before moving to America 10 years ago."

The older woman looked at her sympathetically and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, "My name is Minamino Shiori. You and my son, Shuichi, met in kindergarten and were best friends, practically inseparable."

Eyes wide, Amara watched Shiori go to a nearby bookshelf. She brought back a thick blue binder and placed it on Amara's lap. On the cover was a picture of a young Amara, bright eyed and laughing, hugging an annoyed looking, equally young Shuichi. Underneath, in gold lettering, it read 'Shuichi and Amara'. Flipping it open, each page had several pictures of the two of them, from kindergarten to the end of junior high, each labeled for the occasion.

The doorbell rang and Shiori excused herself to answer. There were soft voices and some shuffling but Amara continued to grope the cloud of her memories, attempting to remember each picture she gazed at.

"Amara?" Looking up at the call and her violet eyes narrowed angrily. Standing abruptly, she flipped the book around so Shuichi could see the photos. A guilty look enveloped his face, his mouth was partially open, as if trying to explain but not finding the right words.

"You lied to me! How could you say we barely knew each other?" Shoving the binder in his arms, Amara raced out into the storm, ignoring the calls from Shiori.

Rain masked the tears streaming down her cheeks, anger and despair took hold of her as she ran. Little rocks and sticks bit into her bare feet as they led her down a familiar yet unknown path. Images of times she had walked the path before flashed before her eyes.

Panting hard, she looked up a flight of stone stairs and shaking feet carried her up them. Anxiety licked her insides as the temple at the top came into view. Amara was at war with herself. Half of her was screaming to get away; the other half was begging to know why it felt so familiar. Unable to deny the need to know her past, she crossed the path and mounted the few steps up. The pounding of her own heart filled her ears and drowned out the rain. Dirt and leaves had piled on the temple porch, dust covered any surface it could and the sliding door had holes from rot.

Just barely touching it, the door fell away with a dull thud. Amara stepped around it into the temple hallway. It was pitch black inside, the stormy weather refused any prying light. Light didn't matter now; the memories were coming in a steady stream and her feet lead her down the wooden floor.

She remembered running throughout the temple and being yelled at for it; training with her grandmother, learning the trade; washing the floors for spring cleaning. Years of events flew back to her as she reached the room at the end of the hall.

Anxiety and fear froze her hand on the sliding door. Every fiber of her being said that something bad lay beyond that door. Steeling herself, determined to find out everything about her past, Amara slide open the door.

There was no light at the point; nothing was visible in the room but she carefully stepped inside, feet probing gingerly to ensure the safety of each step. Her heart was calming; the pounding retreated and allowed the rain to reach her once more. It was closer than it should have been; it seemed there was a hole in the ceiling. Her fingers grazed the nearby walls, searching for a light source as her eyes looked unseeingly around the room.

Lightning streaked across the sky above the temple, flashing brightly through the hole and lighting up the room. Amara froze, her eyes took in everything in front of her in that split second and that last of her memories came flooding back. The horrors that stole her memories away 10 years ago flashed before her eyes. Legs failing her, Amara dropped to the ground and sank in fresh despair.

It was agreed that Hiei would find Amara and watch her for the first shift. She was leaving the hospital when he found her. Silently he followed her from a safe distance, irritated by the rain as it flattened his hair.

Her walk was weaving a bit, as if she was going to faint. Hiei had no desire to care for the girl if she was sick. Biting back a growl of irritation, he decided it would be easiest to contact Kurama since it seemed she was headed towards his mother's home.

'_Kurama.'_

'_Hiei? What's wrong?'_

'_She's headed towards your mother's.'_

'_What? Hiei-' _Kurama could feel Hiei cut the telepathic link. He had just arrived back at his flower store and was about to reopen it for the rest of the business day. Instead, he turned on his heel and sprinted up the street. Very few people were on the street because of the rain, but he had to hold back and run at a human pace, fast but human.

It took him about 15 minutes to reach his mother's home. He rang the doorbell as he tried to calm himself and come up with something to explain what he told her.

Shiori opened the door and ushered him in; greeting him warmly while gently scolding him for coming over without an umbrella. Kurama didn't have to look for the foreign wet shoes at his feet or wait for his mother to whisper that an old friend was here visiting; Amara's scent had filled the entryway.

His mother led him to the living room and pushed him through the archway. Panic filled him as he saw her looking at an old photo album Shiori had made. The look on her face told him that she couldn't remember the things she saw and he nearly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Amara?" a hand gently urged him forward but he hesitated.

Violet eyes snapped up angrily; she stood sharply and showed the photos to him. Guilt sliced through him like a hot knife through butter. He wanted to explain but was at loss for words.

"You lied to me! How could you say we barely knew each other?" Amara shoved the album at him and stormed by. The door opened as Shiori followed her, trying to calm her.

A click told him that Amara was gone and Shiori returned and took the binder from him. "What's going on Shuichi? What did she mean?"

He didn't respond, thoughts lingering on self-loathing and guilt. Then it came to him, Hiei probably left the moment he had arrived, which meant that Amara was without a guard.

"I'm sorry mother, I'll explain later," Kurama rushed out the door. The rain washed away any trace of the direction she went. He racked his brain; where would she go? With no memories, the most likely place would be her current home. No time to spare, relying on the rain to cover for him, Kurama ran full speed towards the small home she lived in. For once he was grateful to be obsessed with her wellbeing.

It was just a few minutes before he reached Amara's home. He slammed his fist on the door, which creaked under his strength. No answer, no signs of life inside. Vaguely his registered some dogs barking and moved away from the house. Walking quickly down the street, Kurama racked his brain with places Amara went when she was upset as a child.

The park. With his destination chosen, he sped off down the street. It was back past Shiori's, just a few blocks. Centered on a decent sized pond, the park was fairly large and with the rain, Kurama couldn't see across it, even with his demon-enhanced sight. He started with the swings and moved around the playground, then to the edge of the pond and on to the willow tree. Amara was nowhere in sight.

Panic rose in his chest and he slammed his fist repeatedly against the tree trunk. Cracks appeared under his knuckles and blood dripped down the bark. _'Calm down. Calm down and think. If she's begun to remember where would she go…? Memories... the temple.'_

His feet couldn't carry him fast enough. Kurama strained to go beyond his demon capabilities and reach the temple. Skidding to a halt, emerald eyes stared up the stone steps. Desperation and fear filled him as he hurried up the stairs, two at a time.

Stopping at the top, he scanned the temple grounds for signs of life. There was no movement or sound beyond the rain. Moving up the pathway and up the few steps, he froze on the porch. The dirt had been disturbed recently, by at least three people. Amara's scent was in the air, with it lingered the scent of two demons.

Quickly and silently, Kurama crept through the temple. Reaching the end of the hall, he took a deep breath before entering the end room. It was empty and faintly lit, rain echoed through a large hole in the far wall. She was gone.

He fell to his knees and slammed his fist into the floor, breaking through with little effort. "Dammit!" The rain began to thin and the setting sun broke through the clouds and bathed him in red. Looking up, Kurama dragged himself off the floor and set out to search the area, maybe he could find them nearby.

Nothing but the smell of rain filled his senses as he searched the small forest around Amara's temple. Footprints had been washed away, it was as if no one had come or gone. Kurama searched the area frantically but came up with nothing, not even a trace.

"Kurama?"

"She's gone Botan. I failed." His fist connected to another tree, reopening the wounds.

"We… We know. Koenma asked me to bring everyone to spirit world right away," she gently took Kurama's hand and healed it before leading him to join the others.

The five of them entered Koenma's office to find him talking with a woman. Kurama remembered meeting her once before, she was the woman who took Amara to America, her aunt.

"Everyone I'd like you to meet Rockford Naoko, Tsubaki Amara's aunt. I hunted her down after getting Amara's name, I thought maybe she could shed some light on some things for us," the toddler prince gestured to the woman. You could see the family resemblance, she was strikingly similar to Amara; the only significant difference being her dark brown eyes.

"Was this all you called us here for? If you hadn't notice we have a priestess to find." Yusuke had been on the verge of yelling the moment he had been told of Amara's disappearance.

"Calm down Yusuke, I have people looking for her right now. There isn't much we can do for now. With Naoko we might be able to figure out who is trying to release the seals. But before that, I thought I should tell you that the three priestesses and my people protecting them have been killed. This means they either don't need the keys to the seals or they believe they can undo the seal that Amara was supposed to protect."

"Excuse me, but that isn't exactly accurate. The priestesses are not the keys, they're the seals."

"That's not possible, Spirit World has kept close watch on the temples and the priestesses and all the information we received when The Demon was sealed in the first place. That information says that the priestesses guard the seals as keys for them. Only they can open the seals in their charge." Koenma was frantically searching through the piles on his desk for the information.

"The information was a lie. My ancestor and the other priestesses of the time agreed that giving less correct information to outsiders would risk less people knowing how to resurrect The Demon. They informed Spirit World that they placed seals in their temples, rather than their bodies, and the way to undo the seals was also a lie. Each priestess has a different way to undo the seal on their body. The only one who knows how to undo the seal is the current priestess and her protégé or predecessor."

"What's the point of passing that kind of information on? Just seems like something that no one should know." Kuwabara had spent the last several minutes fuming after an argument with Hiei on the way to Spirit World.

"Because a seal has to be undone in order to pass it to the successor." Naoko's tone was like that of a parent explaining something simple to a child.

"Isn't that dangerous? What if they happen to undo them all at the same time?"

"There are eight seals Kuwabara, the possibility of them all passing their seal on to their successor at the same time are slim. We should be more concerned about the dead priestesses, what happens to the seal when they're killed?" Kurama feigned an air of calm but a glance at his hands and you could see his frustration; they were clenched so tightly the knuckles were ghostly white.

"The seals will remain intact and attached the dead, but they will begin to fade. How long it takes I'm not really sure but they'll disappear eventually if someone doesn't remove them and replace them on another."

"Wait, if the priestesses are the seals then where is The Demon sealed? Your niece is supposed to guard The Demon's resting place." Koenma was standing on his desk, perhaps in an attempt to look her in the eye, and inadvertently kicked over piles of books and documents.

Naoko shifted, her gaze turned to the floor, "The Demon is sealed within Amara."

Kurama could almost feel his heart stop; his mind was racing through the memories of the time he had spent with her. If that horror was inside of her then he should've noticed.

"What do you mean it's sealed in her? How do you fit something like that in a human anyway?" Yusuke was full out yelling, what little patience he had was gone.

"The base of The Demon's spirit was sealed within Amara. However, its power was cut up into pieces and placed within the other seven seals. The physical body was secretly buried in another location, sealed and forgotten."

"Tattoo…" Kurama murmured out loud, his mind had settled on the memory of the two them in junior high. One summer night Amara dragged him to the school and they snuck in to skinny dip. On her back was an intricate design. She told him it was a tattoo her mother had given her before she could remember.

"What are you talking about Kurama?" Kuwabara's voice dragged Kurama from his memories. When he looked up, everyone was looking at him.

"I saw it once, an intricate tattoo on Amara's back. It is the seal isn't it? How do you transfer something like that from person to person?"

"Well, originally I was supposed to be the next priestess in our line. When Amara was born my mother said that she would be the successor. I was only six at the time so I don't know much about the ritual's specifics. All I know is that the new seal must be prepared and then The Demon's spirit is transferred and the old seal is undone. My sister felt that her life was in danger so when my sister was only a year old she performed the ritual to transfer the seal. Normally the successor spends years in training before the ritual is performed."

"Then it's likely that Amara doesn't know the ritual. If she has no memories of her past, that is." Koenma almost sounded hopeful.

"No, I'm confident that she remembers everything. Some things happened today…" Kurama's mood darkened considerably, no one pressed for more information.

"Alright so who is it that's gathering up all the seals? What's the point if they can't undo the seals themselves?" Yusuke had managed to put a lid on his impatience and anger and asked in an almost pleasant way.

"The only ones that know so much about the seals are the priestesses. you said that there is one line that has been missing for many years now?" Naoko turned her attention back to Koenma.

"Yes, the priestess affiliated with darkness," replied Koenma as he shifted through some papers and pulled out the little information they had. "I don't think this information is accurate at all after what you told us though."

"If any priestess were to turn on the rest it would be one of that line. My mother used to say that they had a hard time balancing their dark-affiliations with good and it was only a matter of time before one of them was swallowed in shadows."

"So, assuming that she has betrayed humanity, it's likely that this priestess spent the time she was away from the eyes of others to find The Demon's physical body. If we can find it we can find her and the other priestesses." Kurama started picking up some of Koenma's files, searching for anything that might say where they needed to go.


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry it's been so long. Life got in the way and I couldn't find motivation to write. Here's a short chapter. I'm thinking this story will only be a few more chapters.

"You're certain this is her?" the voice was as harsh as the woman's black eyes. Her long black hair whipped around as she turned sharply towards her two subordinates.

"Yes my lady. Her violet eyes and presence in the temple match the information we were given," the soft, malicious voice belonged to a rather human looking demon, that is, if he didn't have giant cockroach-like wings on his back.

"She's practically lifeless, what am I supposed to do with this worthless thing?" she threw a pale hand back in a gesture of frustration before stomping across the floor and grabbing Amara by the hair and pulling her up. Black eyes stared into vacant purple for a few seconds before she let out a growl of frustration and shoving her object of hatred back.

Amara didn't move, just laid splayed across the floor, they had bound her hands and feet in what looked like hair, brown like the hair of the cockroach-like demon. Her clothes had been taken when they arrived in the dark but large cave. They couldn't seem to do anything to the seal upon her back but it didn't stop them from attempting torture in other ways. Breathing heavy, Amara's body felt the toll but her mind felt nothing.

"My lady, perhaps some heavier torture would be sufficient? Whatever she's focusing on now would surely be erased if we started removing limbs, possibly starting with the fingers…"

"Hmmm… No, don't remove anything, it'd be bad if she bled to death by accident. Who knows how long it would take for her seal to come undone then. For now start with breaking things…"

"With pleasure."

Kurama jerked up in a cold sweat and looked around, realizing he had fallen asleep in the Spirit World library. The desk in front of him was covered in old maps and books, ones that showed what the human and demon world looked like before the barrier was put in place. There were plenty of versions of the story about The Demon and the priestesses that sealed it away, but nothing seemed to say where it happened.

He slammed another useless book shut, shoved it off the table and buried his face in his hands, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Faintly he could hear the loud snoring of his friends somewhere else in the library.

"No luck?" Botan placed a cup of tea next to him as he looked up.

"None, I don't think there's anything here that can help us," Kurama replied, sipping the warm beverage.

"Well, I can't say I'm too surprised. The priestesses weren't exactly forthcoming with information."

"That's… true…." A light bulb flickered to life in his emerald eyes as he picked up the map depicting the temples.

"What're you thinking?" Botan moved behind his chair to see the parchment.

"Perhaps there's more information at the temples. I find it hard to believe the priestesses wouldn't keep an eye on the corpse of The Demon."

"Why not go take a look? Hiei went to see if there were any traces of the demons who took Amara. You can get him to help."

Kurama stared up at the dusty, broken temple and took a deep breath as he walked up the creaky steps. Carefully, the fox made his way through the place that haunted both his and Amara's memories. Dust and cobwebs thickened the air, making it hard to breathe and see. Kurama pulled out a seed and fed it his energy until it bloomed a dim luminescent flower. It did little to help his vision, the light caught on the dust rather then cut through it.

Each room he went through dwindle away his little spark of hope. The room at the end of the hall was still open, Kurama's sharp eyes could already see the dim predawn light seeping in the broken wall. Black stains were splashed across the walls as a reminder of what occurred there 10 years ago. Steeling himself, he entered the room and scanned it for bookcases, storage chests or anything that maybe be of use. A small opening on the side wall caught his eye. A memory of Amara losing her sanity in that spot flashed across his vision as he approached the enclosure.

The inside seemed to be an empty closet. However, the demons that had attacked 10 years ago couldn't find the door that hid the scared priestess in hiding. Stepping inside, Kurama could feel the remnants of spirit energy around him.


End file.
